​Holiday Fireworks –With the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, it is time to discuss fireworks. Fireworks are very scary for our feline friends. All cats should be kept inside with doors and windows shut to help reduce the sound of the fireworks. Over the counter products such as Feliway can be very beneficial to reduce stress. Feliway is a natural feline pheromone to help make cats feel more comfortable in their home environment. This can be used as a diffuser that is plugged in continuously for 30 days. It can be used starting one week before a known stressful event and continued until the diffuser runs out. A safe and secure cozy environment could be created for your cat by making an enclosed space such as a covered bed that they can hide in. Feliway spray can be used on the bed 1 hour before the event so it is dry. Some cats will benefit from anti-anxiety medication if their reaction is severe enough. Please make an appointment to discuss with us today.

Indoor vs. Outdoor Cats –There are many different opinions regarding indoor vs. outdoor cats. Cats who go outside are more at risk for getting hit by a car, attacked by other animals, and contracting infectious disease. There are ways to make your indoor environment more manageable for the feline who is persistent to go outside. Environmental modification and enrichment can help maintain your cat’s overall happiness. Some ways are to increase vertical space within the home so that your cat can get up high, exercise, and feel safe. This can be accomplished through the use of multiple tall cat towers, wall perches, and wall ramps/tunnels that the cat can climb up. A catio, which is an enclosed outdoor space for cats, is an elegant idea to allow cats access to the outdoors without compromising their safety. There are also fenced in yards with barriers over the top that can keep cats from escaping outside of the yard. Cats can also be trained to walk on a harness.

​​Cat Feng Shui RULE #1 –Litterbox Number. In multi-cat households, one of the best ways to create a peaceful environment is to provide an appropriate litter box set-up. Various factors should be considered, the most important being the number of boxes. As a rule of paw, 1 litterbox per cat + 1 (example: 2 cats = 3 litterboxes). And from a cat’s perspective, multiple litterboxes right next to each other are considered ONE box. Thus, it is also important to have the right number of boxes in various locations.

Cat Feng Shui RULE #2 –Vertical Space. Cats are predators by nature. Thus, cats feel the safest when they can survey their surroundings. This is often best done from a lofty place. Examples include tall six food cat trees, window perches/ledges, shelves designed specifically for cats, top of kitchen cabinets, etc. There should be designated vertical spaces for each cat in the household to prevent stress or competition for the desired vertical spot.

Cat Feng Shui RULE #3 –Scratching. Scratching is a natural behavior for all cats and gives them pleasure. Discouraging scratching with punishment can lead to unwanted behavior such as inappropriate litterbox use or aggression. Cats are not trained well with discipline. It is most effective when undesirable behavior is redirected toward an appropriate object like a scratching post. All cats have a preference for THEIR most desirable scratching surface. Most prefer tall, sturdy vertical surfaces. When I say tall, I mean as tall as your cat can stretch from front paw to back paw. The most common scratching surfaces are carpet, sisal rope or corrugated cardboard. You will have to try them all on for size to determine which your cat prefers. Unfortunately, if you do not provide the right one (size and substrate), they will find their own (often a beautiful couch).